Boat people treatment farcical, say Democrats

Australian Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett has described the Government's treatment of Vietnamese asylum seekers sent to Christmas Island as outrageous and farcical.

Senator Bartlett was part of a joint parliamentary committee on migration that left Christmas Island an hour before the 53 boat people arrived on Saturday.

He said yesterday that the committee agreed to leave after being assured the Vietnamese on board the HMAS Canberra were a day away. Committee members would have delayed their departure to meet them.

"Whilst we were there, we were regularly told by anybody who should know these things that the boat wasn't likely to arrive until well into the Sunday," he said.

"It was disappointing . . . to learn when we were back on the mainland that the boat had arrived just an hour after we left. I think people can draw their own conclusions from that."");document.write("

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An hour after the committee's departure, the Canberra docked and the 27 men, 17 women and nine children were taken to detention on the island, which has a food shortage. Food and medicines are being flown in.

Senator Bartlett said the committee wanted the detainees' views on how they were being treated and to ensure they were informed of their legal rights.

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said that the committee members would have been denied access to the Vietnamese.

"The issue is one of which I say very, very clearly, they would not have been allowed to engage with the unlawful non-citizens whether they'd been there or not," Mr Ruddock said.

Senator Bartlett said that the people should have been processed at a mainland detention centre. Sending them 1800 kilometres to inadequate facilities on Christmas Island was an outrage.